In the first surgery of its kind worldwide, an 84-year-old Chinese man has received knee surgery using 3D printing technology to fill large bone defects with tantalum, a rare metal, at a hospital in Chongqing Municipality, reported cqnews.net.

据重庆新闻网报道，在重庆市的一家医院，一名84岁的中国男子接受了利用3D打印技术的膝关节手术，该技术是将罕见的金属钽来垫块修复巨大骨缺损。这是全球首例该类型的手术。

As the incidence of arthritis¹ among people aged from 50 to 59 has reached 62 percent, the first hospital affiliated² to AMU (southwest hospital) now performs about 400 knee replacement³ surgeries annually⁴, according to reports.

据报道，在50岁至59岁的人群中，关节炎发病率已经达到了62%，仅仅在西南第一医院关节外科，每年就要进行约400例的膝关节置换手术。

"Total knee replacement is the most effective way to treat late-stage knee diseases, as it can reduce the pain for patients and improve their quality of life," said Yang Liu, a professor at the hospital.

该院的杨柳教授表示：“全膝关节置换术是治疗终末期膝关节疾病的最有效的方法，可减轻疼痛，提高患者生活质量。”

However, bone defects may occur around the joint due to post-operative infections or other reasons.

但是，由于术后感染以及其他原因，往往会造成关节周围骨缺损。

The shape of the bone defects varies greatly, and existing modular metal cannot correct the defects.

骨缺损的形态千差万别，现有的模块化金属垫块无法充分填充。

Tantalum is used in dental and surgical⁵ implants⁶; however, titanium alloy⁷ is more commonly used as the high melting point of tantalum exceeds the limit of most 3D printers available.

钽被用于牙科以及外科植入；然而，由于钽金属熔点非常高，超过了目前大多3D打印机的极限，所以目前置入物均以钛合金为主。

Porous⁸ tantalum has been developed to solve the technical problem. Tantalum pads are individually designed for patients by computer-aided design and precise 3D-printing technology.

多孔钽的开发解决了这个技术问题。钽垫块是通过计算机辅助设计和精确3d打印技术，为病人量身定制的。

The surgery is greatly simplified, avoiding many possible risks.

该手术的流程大大简化，避免了许多可能出现的风险。